


Shotgun

by sweetmars03



Series: Space-mates [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Beta Pidge | Katie Holt, Galaxy Garrison, M/M, Omega Lance (Voltron), Potentially Mildly Dubious Consent, i tried to do angst, klance, you can clearly tell i don't like writing angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23677738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetmars03/pseuds/sweetmars03
Summary: If you had told Keith as he woke up one uneventful morning in his Garrison dorm that within just a few hours he’d be mated to an Omega he’d talked to maybe twice before, he would’ve laughed in your face.Right now, though, as he faced an apoplectic Iverson, laughing was pretty far down the list of things he wanted to do.~Set in the same universe as Five Times Allura Thought Keith Shouldn't Control Lance And One Time She Regretted It, and tells the story of Keith and Lance's unconventional mating and how they make it work.
Relationships: Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt
Series: Space-mates [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705438
Comments: 34
Kudos: 427





	Shotgun

**Author's Note:**

> Edit (please read): It has been brought to my attention that a scene in this story could potentially be interpreted as non-con. This was not my intention in writing it, however I will be placing the indications (a significantly larger gap between lines and a horizontal line) at the beginning and end of said scene for the benefit of any reader who might need them. However I feel the need to point out that that is not the intention with which the scene was written and canonically both characters consider the encounter to have been consensual, but if you are particularly sensitive towards the subject, you may very well skip it if you wish.
> 
> This is a prequel sequel thing to FTATKSCLAOTSRI (god I cracked myself up just writing that, I think I'll just shorten it to Five Times Allura from now on).
> 
> Both ideas existed in tandem in my head though not necessarily related to each other at the time, but it's easier to set it in the same universe so that's what we're going with.
> 
> Disclaimer: I cannot write smut to save my life, so there will be none of that in this story and probably not in anything I write ever. If you desire such a scene you will need the use of your imagination.

If you had told Keith as he woke up one uneventful morning in his Garrison dorm that within just a few hours he’d be mated to an Omega he’d talked to maybe twice before, he would’ve laughed in your face.

Right now, though, as he faced an apoplectic Iverson, laughing was pretty far down the list of things he wanted to do.

~

The Garrison wasn’t made or run by idiots, of course they knew a bunch of cocky young Alphas and Omegas freshly out of their adolescence was a terrible combination. Initially it had been suggested they make separate programs for Alphas and Omegas but the idea was viciously shut down by every Omega within a fifty mile radius. The very idea was insulting, denigrating and unacceptable. If an Alpha cadet was unable to control themselves then clearly they were not worthy of attending the program and they would get booted back home, same for Omegas.

In its place a plan to make the Alphas and Omegas dorms as far from each other as possible and to mix in as many Betas into both groups as was feasible was put into place; as well as a variety of incredibly strict rules about exactly where and when Alpha cadets were allowed to roam.

The last thing an institution like the Garrison needed was a slew of hastily cobbled together mateships between teenagers in a remote and isolated base.

Keith of course knew all of this, he and all the rest of the Alphas entering in his year had been briefed rather severely about it on multiple occasions before they were even allowed to enter the program.

Lance knew this as well, a similar process went through any and all Omegas seeking to join the ranks.

And yet it seemed none of these things managed to do much to prevent the two from being mated.

~

Keith strode quickly and quietly down the corridor he knew he wasn’t allowed in. Every Alpha had a map with red highlighted around the areas they were not supposed to trespass in under any circumstance.

The particular area he was treading through was underlined and circled twice. However, it was the fastest way to cut through to the Alpha dorms from their physical training centers and after the first time of saying, screw it, he’ll take his chances getting caught over trekking around the entire damn base just to get to his room and seeing how much faster it was, he had made a nasty habit of using the shortcut.

The thing was, the entire wing was usually deserted. A few times he could hear people in the dorms on either side of the long hallway that would lead him to the Alpha dorms but for the most part he didn’t encounter anyone. The only time he had ever seen anyone else had been a small Beta that had startled at the sight of him and immediately locked herself in the nearest room.

Keith never really thought much of it, or at least, he hadn’t until right this very moment.

* * *

The smell hit him all at once and with a force that almost floored him. Something dark and rich and smooth hung in the air, so good it could’ve made him dizzy. A part of him was deeply pleased by the smell, another, much smaller, was confused by his intense reaction.

His thoughts snapped so quickly into place it would’ve given anyone whiplash upon hearing a noise from a door up ahead.

Quiet, frustrated sobs and a gloriously sweet voice that called:

“Alpha…”

Oh no, the least foggy part of Keith’s brain thought as he lurched forward towards the sound.

He scrambled desperately for any shred of his self control, trying to breathe deeply through his mouth though it didn’t really help matters much as he could taste the smell, hanging heavy and dense in the air.

He found the door behind which the voice had spoken and pressed his forehead to it, all rational thoughts slowly vacating his mind.

“Omega,” Even with his head as cottony as it was his voice was at first uncertain, wavering slightly.

The response he got however, was immediate and overwhelming, accompanied by a sharp spike in the intensity of the smell hijacking his ability to think anything through, much less something like this.

“Alpha!”

It sounded like an angel’s cry to Keith.

“Please!”

The sound wrenched at Keith’s heart. The person on the other side of the door sounded like they were in genuine pain and for a brief moment his protective instincts overpowered everything else going on in his brain.

“Are you okay?” His hands were pressed firmly against the door as he waited for a response.

“Can’t… please!”

Anything, Keith’s deluded brain supplied him the thought. I’ll take care of you, I’ll do anything for you.

Whether or not the Omega on the other side of the door was telepathic and had been able to hear Keith’s thoughts was besides the point because at the moment the doors opened, and Keith was lost long before he entered the room.

~

Short moments of consciousness would occasionally break through the haze of heat and lust Keith found himself enveloped in for God knows how long. Brief moments in which, if he focused hard enough, he thought that perhaps this wasn’t going to rank very high on his list of bright ideas. Perhaps it wouldn’t make any list of brightest ideas.

But then Lance was squirming deliciously under him and Keith got sidetracked. He got sidetracked many times.

He had recognized Lance as soon as he’d walked in, the loudmouth Omega in his class who was not afraid to insult Alphas and Betas alike. He knew Lance must’ve recognized him as well, in between bouts of begging for ‘Alpha’, Lance would call him by his name.

* * *

It was the kind of thing Keith had plenty of time to reflect on after a quiet mousy Beta officer of theirs had found them tangled up in Lance’s nest. Keith and Lance had been yanked apart, something Keith protested rather physically until several officials had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head.

Shit.

Had been his only thought as he stood there shivering, the cold sinking in at the same time as the severity of his actions.

He’d been led to a detention room then and locked in on his own.

He had chewed through the majority of his fingernails by the time he tried to replay the entire encounter from start to finish for the fifth time. There were huge swaths in his memory that were frustratingly vague, muddled and hazy with nothing more than a fuzzy idea of 'good, good, good, good, yes, good, good'.

God, he sounded like an animal.

The situation was not made any better when Iverson showed up. The man had walked into the room, pace measured, which was how Keith knew he was deeply fucked, and stood on the opposite side of Keith's desk.

Keith could see his eye twitching for a fraction of a second before the man exploded.

"What in the name of hell were you doing, parading around the heat wing like you own it?! That entire area is forbidden to Alphas under threat of expulsion and I've half a mind to do just that!"

Keith's brain had a moment to think 'ah, so that's why we aren't allowed' before it latched onto the second part of that statement.

"You're not throwing me out?"

Iverson chuckled darkly under his breath, glaring at Keith.

"I wish I could. Do you know what you did?"

Keith sat there, the dumbest of looks on his face, before a firetruck red blush took over his face and ears.

"I had heat sex with an Omega." He mumbled under his breath.

Iverson barked out a laugh so loud and crass it took Keith aback.

"Oh no, boy. You didn't just have heat sex with an Omega, you laid claim to one, mark and everything. Congratulations sunny, you're mated."

Not for the first time today the thought shit echoed out from every corner of Keith's brain.

But before that:

"Where is he?"

Already his Alpha instincts were screaming at him to go find Lance, to protect and comfort him. Omegas were very vulnerable after a heat, and whether or not it was the smartest decision, Lance was now Keith's mate and it was his duty to make sure he was safe.

Iverson clearly knew this because he sighed in frustration but answered evenly.

"We put him in an isolation chamber. When he feels ready we'll call the both of you in to discuss what we're gonna do about it. You're dismissed."

Keith could barely stop himself from bolting to the door.

Iverson hadn't told him where the isolation chamber was but that didn't matter because faintly, at the edge of his senses, he could smell him.

Well, there was no getting around that one, he had definitely mated Lance if he could smell him from the other side of the base.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he hurried through the halls, following the scent.

Two Betas and an Alpha hanging around a corner looked at him weird as he passed but he couldn't give any less shits.

Within a few minutes he found himself at a door guarded by the same mousy Beta that had found him in Lance's room. She glared at him. He smiled sheepishly and tried not to think about the fact that she had seen him naked.

She did, however, let him into the room.

It was stark white with a large and comfortable enough looking bed, blankets and pillows heaped about in a messy attempt of a nest. Inside was Lance, who's eyes had snapped up as soon as he heard the door open.

Keith could smell it in the air, the Omega was deeply distressed.

"Hey," It might've been the dumbest thing to come out of his mouth in years. He cleared his throat.

He probably would have stood there like a moron forever had Lance not crawled deeper into his nest, fluffing up a place for Keith to join him. Keith crawled in after Lance and immediately reached his arms around to hold him, Lance leaning into his embrace easily.

Looking down, Keith could clearly see the bite mark he'd left on Lance's neck. It looked like it hurt, inflamed and red, the puncture wounds where his fangs had pierced skin scabbed over, which made him feel terrible all over again.

Lance was already drifting off to sleep though, the heat and separation had clearly taken a toll on him.

"I'm sorry." Keith whispered when he thought the other was already gone. He almost startled when he got the sleepy reply of: "Don't be."

~

It was a couple more hours before Lance was properly rested and in a proper state of mind. He seemed content to stay in the room forever though, and Keith would've probably let him if they hadn't been called to Iverson's office.

The walk over seemed eternal and Keith kept waiting for Lance to tell him that he hated him and didn't want him as his mate.

How could he have been so massively stupid?

Iverson kept the angry lecturing to a minimum this time, the presence of an Omega probably had something to do with that.

"You'll have new dorm accommodations, your own room on the opposite side of base."

It was almost funny how Keith had gotten himself into this mess to avoid walking as much and now he would be doing twice the amount.

"All of your teachers have been alerted to the situation. If either of you were to need your mate you'll be excused from your classes immediately, but you will be responsible for making up the work in your own time as each teacher sees fit."

“The nurses will be monitoring McClain’s heats closely; you are under no circumstance to take part in any improper activities which may get Mr. McClain pregnant.”

He glared at them. Keith’s entire face reddened as he tried to avoid looking at both Iverson and Lance.

"Apart from that, you will both be charged with 50 hours of service in the base as punishment."

Keith thought it was supremely unfair to include Lance in this punishment seeing as it was his rule breaking that landed him in the damn mess but Iverson must've seen his complaint bubbling up because he responded first.

"McClain was supposed to have reported that his heat had commenced and be assigned a Beta to accompany him. His failure to comply is what earned his punishment, just as your failure to remain within designated areas is what's earned you your punishment."

Keith shot a questioning look at Lance who was looking straight ahead at Iverson.

"Is that all, sir?" He asked.

Iverson frowned but nodded.

"We're in the process of contacting your family to inform them of what happened." Iverson told Lance, which made him flinch slightly but he shrugged it off quickly.

"You're both dismissed." Iverson said with a tired sigh and Keith and Lance took their leave.

They'd been given a new map with their room pointed out to them. The first stretch of their journey was spent in silence until Keith couldn't take it any longer.

"How are you feeling?" He asked Lance.

The Omega shrugged. "Well enough. Heats always make me feel wonky, it should dissipate by tomorrow."

Keith filed it away in a newly made archive in his brain labeled 'Lance's needs'. He's not a hundred percent sure when he conjured its existence.

"What's your class schedule for tomorrow?"

"Double piloting in the morning, lunch, a free period and a short training session. I'm allowed to skip physical training a few times after my heat if I don't feel well enough."

Keith nodded, sucking in a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do.

"We could break the bond if you wanted."

Lance stopped dead in his tracks and wheeled on him.

"Excuse me?"

Keith hurried to explain himself. "I don't want you to have to be stuck with me just because I couldn't control myself. I know it's hard and painful but it's still early so it can be done. You should get the chance to actually choose your mate. I don't want to take that away from you."

It'd barely been two days and already he was more than willing to give anything and everything for Lance. The idea that he had doomed him to an unhappy mateship for the rest of his life tore at Keith's heart.

Lance pursed his lips.

"Perhaps you forgot but I asked you to claim me-"

"You weren't in your right mind-"

"Neither were you."

Keith bit back his reply: "I should've."

Alphas were supposed to learn to control and discipline themselves, especially if they wanted to potentially be sent on a mission to space with an Omega on the crew.

"Look," Lance sighed. "It happened, okay? Maybe I wouldn't have chosen it but I don't regret it."

"We basically just met."

Lance shrugged and started walking again. Keith hurried to keep pace.

"And? It doesn't matter, like I said, already happened. We can sit around bemoaning our fate or we can keep on going with our lives."

"I don't want you to stay with me because you feel you have no choice. That's not fair to you, it's not fair to me."

Lance closed his eyes.

"Right now, I'm choosing to see where this takes me. If you don't want that tell me right now."

Keith remained quiet.

Deep within him he knew the answer, he wanted to be the one to take care of and provide for Lance, circumstances be damned

A small smirk pulled at the corners of Lance's lips. "Exactly."

They had finally arrived at their door.

The room was similar to the isolation chamber Lance had been taken to earlier. There was a smaller bed, an en suite and a wardrobe but otherwise it was bare.

Lance immediately went to the wardrobe and pulled out extra sheets and pillows and blankets, setting to work on building yet another nest. He wished they would stop moving him around, though hopefully that's exactly what would happen with this new room.  
Keith stood unsure at the threshold for a few moments before making his decision.

He walks up to Lance as he settles down the foundation of the new nest and stops him, taking his wrists in his own.

“I… these may not be the most favorable of circumstances for a mateship, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are my mate and from now on my first priority is to take care of you. For however long you’ll have me.”

Keith didn’t know how to stress this enough. A part of him already felt so attached to Lance, he’d never let anything happen to him.

Lance smiled, leaned up and pressed a kiss to Keith’s lips. It was different from the fervent desperate kisses they had shared during Lance’s heat. This was soft and gentle, a promise.

“I’ll have you forever.”

Keith’s heart melted at the sound of those words.

~

The first weeks took some getting used to for Lance. On top of all of his classes, his newly awarded servicing punishment and the extra work he needed to put in after missing a week of classes, he now needed to make time for his mate.

It was still odd to think about the fact that he had one of those now. Sometimes if he got distracted, he’d run his fingers absentmindedly over his claim mark, the scarring tissues alien under his touch where just a few weeks ago there had been unblemished skin.

It didn’t upset him though. He’d meant what he told Keith.

The Alpha was an attentive mate if nothing else.

Pidge and Hunk had been surprised to say the least. Well, Pidge had found it hilarious and Hunk was kind of mystified by the whole affair, like he wasn’t entirely sure it was really happening.

“I can’t believe you mated a guy you never met.” Pidge had said, wiping a stray tear from her eye after recovering from her bout of laughter.

“Is he nice? Does he treat you well?”

Hunk was very invested in Lance’s well being. He’d been assigned as his heat companion several times before and clearly he’d developed a protective streak over Lance.

“He is. He does.”

“Mated at seventeen to a stranger.” Pidge said, a smile still plastered on her face.

Lance pinched her arm which caused the girl to object loudly.

“Shut up, he's gonna eat lunch with us today; I don’t want you antagonizing him.”

“He’s coming here? Right now?” Hunk looked around as if Keith might jump out of the nearest trash can.

Lance blinked at him.

“Yeah. You don’t need to act like he’s some mystical creature.”

With that Lance spotted Keith coming out of the cafeteria line and waved him over. Half of the cadets present were pretending they weren’t staring at him as he made his way over.

Keith had been flying pretty much solo since he had arrived at the Garrison, not really making any friends or talking much to anybody, although he was still fairly popular because of how well he did in classes, and a bit of an attitude problem. That had already made people intrigued before he went and got himself mated.

When he got to the table he pressed a quick kiss to Lance’s head, sitting down beside him.

“Hey,” he said, clearly feeling awkward.

He’d brought Lance a tray of food, the Omega having sat down at his friends’ table immediately.

“What a story to tell the grandkids, amirite?” Pidge had a shit eating grin on her face as Lance glared daggers at her.

“Ignore her.” Lance said immediately, seeing Keith look distinctly more uncomfortable than he had just a few seconds before.

“What makes you think you’re good enough to be Lance’s mate?” Hunk asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Ignore him, too.” Lance said loudly, trying to kick Hunk under the table but missing and hitting Pidge, who kicked back.

“It’s fine.” Keith said, trying to hide a smirk. “I’m here to meet these two, no?”

Lance frowned. “Well, yeah.”

Keith turned to Pidge. “I’m not sure these are the best lessons to pass onto to our offspring.” He said, but his eyes betrayed his amusement.

“And I’m not entirely sure myself but Lance hasn’t complained yet so I’m thinking I must be doing something right.”

Lance knocked his shoulder into his gently.

Keith immediately, almost instinctively, put his arm around him.

Hunk hummed for a short moment before declaring he approved. When Lance looked to see Pidge’s reaction he found her trying to stuff most of a sandwich into her mouth. She shrugged.

“If he can take a joke, he’s fine in my book.” She mumbled out around the bread and ham.

Lance felt Keith’s hold on him tighten minutely and then relax. He had to imagine his Alpha was pleased.

~

Lance’s heart thumped wildly in his chest but he held his hands steady at the controls as he tried to visualize his path through the asteroid field.

Somewhere over his shoulder Hunk was shouting something, probably that this was a bad idea and Lance needed to reroute, but it had a hard time getting through the intense concentration he held.

Just him and the viewport.

He pulled the controls sharply to the left, slowly picking up speed as enormous space boulder after enormous space boulder rushed toward him, with him just barely weaving out of the way.

Hunk’s voice again, more urgent this time and Lance tried to listen but a rock the size of Texas suddenly came hurtling at him from below. He barely yanked the ship out of the way in time.

“Lance, the engine can’t handle these maneuvers!”

Ah, so that’s what Hunk was trying to tell him.

The panel in front of him was flashing bright red in at least three distinct rhythms.

Scanning the horizon again he found an opening he might just be able to squeeze through with a bit of talent and a boat load of luck.

“Lance, no!”

But Lance had already veered in the direction. He pushed the controls as hard as he could, mentally crossing himself as he whispered under his breath, I can make it, I can make it.

With a violent jolt, Lance was almost thrown from his chair.

The words **SIMULATION FAILED** flashed on the viewport a few times before the entire system shut down.

Lance sighed slumping forward in his chair.

“Shit.” He grumbled underneath his breath as Hunk complained about the bumpy ride.

They clambered out of the simulator to find the same empty practice room they had been in a quarter of an hour ago.

It was almost midnight.

Keith pushed off from the wall he was leaning against, a frown on his face. Lance didn’t want to know he had disappointed him.

He didn’t say anything right away though, which Lance was thankful for.

“Thanks anyways Hunk. For helping.” Lance mumbled under his breath, trying not to feel bitter. He was genuinely grateful to his friend for putting in the late night sessions after Lance missed the weeks drills.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’ll get it soon.”

Lance knew his words were empty.

They split off at the door, Hunk heading back to the barracks and Keith and Lance to their room.

Keith had put his arm over Lance’s shoulder and the Omega had leaned into his Alpha’s warm strong figure.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked quietly.

Lance shook his head. He was trying not to cry and he wasn’t a hundred percent sure what had finally pushed him over the edge.

Keith just pulled him in closer, held them all the way to their room.

With the door closed behind him Lance let out a short pathetic bleat of a laugh, and turned away from the look of concern on Keith’s face.

“What?” Keith asked.

Lance sniffled. “Just thought it was funny. The worst pilot the Garrison has ever seen mated to the best flier of this generation. Irony or something.”

Keith shook his head.

“You’re not the worst pilot the Garrison's ever seen.” Keith said adamantly.

“Yeah, right, when was the last time I didn’t crash a simulator?”

“I didn’t say you were perfect either.”

Lance couldn’t help but smirk at his mate. If anyone else had told him that he might’ve slapped them. But Keith was just too genuine in his affection for Lance.

“You’ve got a long way to go but the talent is there. And even if everyone else is a moron who can’t see it, I can.”

“It’s your job to see the best in me.”

Keith shook his head.

“It’s my job to see the best for you. Piloting makes you happy, even when it’s hard. And I’m gonna be with you every step of the way until you make it.”

“You mean it?” Lance asked, voice wavering only slightly.

“Absolutely.”

~

Lance tried to put in a conscious effort to pay attention to what his teacher was saying but his mind kept drifting. The Garrison had indeed informed his family of his mating and they had not been pleased.

They’d sent a multitude of letters, each ruder and more demanding than the last, asking for explanations addressing Keith personally to say some not remotely nice things.

Obviously, Lance had hidden any trace of them from his Alpha, locked them all safely in a box under their bed.

“Earth to Lance?” Pidge mocked, poking him in the back of the head with her pencil. He whipped around and glared at her but quickly returned to staring emptily ahead and pondering what he was going to do about his family before the teacher noticed.

He asked a question. Lance didn’t put up his hand.

“McClain,”

Lance almost slammed his face into his desk. It seemed that ever since being mated to Keith no one would leave him alone, not his classmates, not his teachers, certainly not his family.

Behind him, he knew Pidge knew the answer, but it wasn’t much use to him if he couldn’t see her. He could try to guess or say he didn’t know but Lance wasn’t really in the mood.

He had his get out of jail free card though.

“I’d like to be excused, sir.”

He said, and without waiting for an answer he began shoving his notebook and pencil back in his bag.

His teacher sneered at him.

“Shall I call for Kogane to be excused from his class as well?”

Lance drew up his mental image of Keith’s schedule. His mate would be finishing up his time in the simulator. Lance didn’t want to pull him out of that, it was the hardest class to reschedule.

“I’ll go find him, thank you for your concern.”

He knew everyone’s eyes were glued on him as he walked out, but then again, when wasn’t he the focus of attention lately? Every Omega on the base seemed to flock towards him with opinions about his mating and how it happened and who it was with. The Alphas were all insanely jealous Keith managed to get what every one of them wanted and they would take it out on the both of them alike.

It was, frankly, really annoying.

The halls were mostly empty as Lance made his way to Keith’s class. If he hurried he might be able to see him while he was running a drill.

Lance knocked quietly on the door to the classroom, seeing the darkened windows and knowing there must be a drill currently in sequence.

Another Omega cadet opened the door for him and glared as he entered. Not like he gave a shit, he thought as he turned to see who was currently running the simulator.

It was indeed Keith, absolutely dominating as he always did. Lance knew the other must’ve sensed his presence but he remained focused till the end where he was awarded top marks. He ignored the teacher as she tried to praise him and found Lance waiting for him by the door.

He quickly drew him into an embrace.

“Are you okay? Why are you out of class?”

His eyes shone with concern. Lance smiled at him.

“I missed you.” Not a lie.

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed knowingly but he said nothing else as his class was dismissed and he put an arm around Lance’s waist leading him out.

“You wanna skip lunch.”

“And everything after.” Lance admitted.

Keith hummed as he began steering them to their room.

Lance leaned into him. Honestly he was just happy to be with his mate again.

The Omega hadn’t realized he was so tired until he crashed into their bed and immediately curled up for a nap.

When he woke up several hours later he found Keith sitting at the other side of a bed, holding in his hand one of the many letters Lance’s family had written to him, several more laid out around him.

“Shit,” Lance jumped up reaching over to try and pull it from his mates hand but Keith held on.

“You weren’t- that’s not-” Lance scrambled for a way to explain fast enough.

Lance tried to lean around and see the expression on his Alpha’s face to determine just how screwed he was.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Keith asked.

Lance felt a tight knot form in his throat at Keith’s even tone of voice, but at least he wasn’t angry. Lance would take what he could get.

“They’re just being dramatic and overreacting, they’ll get over themselves eventually.” Lance was bluffing. He wasn’t sure his family would ever let him live this down.

Keith must’ve known this because he leveled a look at Lance.

“Tell me the truth.” Lance still hadn’t learned how to refuse his Alpha. He hung his head.

“What they’re saying isn’t true.” He said softly under his breath. “I don’t regret our mateship, and I won’t, and it’s not going to make me unhappy. There’s no reason to fill your head with any more doubts about us than you already have.”

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed together in concern.

“Hey, I told you I would take care of you no matter what. That includes if your family doesn’t approve of me.”

Keith folded up the letter and out of the corner of his eye Lance caught one of the lines where his mother had called Keith a delinquent.

Keith pulled Lance’s head to his chest and held him close, leaning down to press a kiss to the crown of his head.

“They will come around though.” Lance said, half trying to convince himself, half already convinced. “They care about me, it’s why they’re upset in the first place. They’ll see you weren’t a mistake.”

Keith nodded but said nothing else.

For a moment Lance wishes he had.

~

Keith was starting to get on Lance’s nerves.

Truthfully that was something of an understatement. In full, Keith was driving Lance completely fucking crazy.

But it was the kind of crazy that Lance found it hard to complain about. It’s not what Keith was doing wrong so much as it was what he wasn’t doing right; what he wasn’t doing at all.

“Who do I need to punch?” Pidge had asked, upon seeing the upset Omega working off some steam by shredding copies of his report card threatening to throw him out of the program for his sub par performance. If that wasn’t already a telltale sign that something was up, Lance was in her room, not in his own with Keith.

“I don’t get it.” Lance finally admitted, shoulders slumped forward in defeat. He sat on the floor surrounded by a pile of paper bits.

“Don’t get what?”

“What he’s waiting for!”

When Pidge did nothing but raise an eyebrow Lance shook his head, running his hands through his hair and tugging something bordering on violent.

“It’s Keith.” Lance spat out.

“Yeah, I got that much from the hissy fit you’re throwing, I meant what about Loverboy’s got you ruffled up?”

“Don’t call him that.” Lance responded almost instinctively as he began chewing on his thumb nail. Pidge slapped his hand away from his mouth and dragged him up off the floor and into her desk chair.

She said nothing else as she waited for the Omega to recollect his thoughts.

“It’s just… I thought he’d open up to me by now. When we mated, or well, when we agreed to give the mateship a shot, he sounded like he really cared about me. And I’m not doubting that he cares about me but he… he doesn’t seem to care if I care about him. And whenever I try to show him I wanna care for him he just… Acts like he doesn’t want it.”

Pidge listened attentively.

“I’m not the greatest person to ask for advice on mateships,” Pidge began, “However, it seems to me you just need to sit down and have a chat with him. I mean this is Keith we’re talking about, the man’s about as observant as my left pinky. Actually scratch that, that’s insulting to my left pinky.”

“Okay, sure,” Lance mumbled, knowing full well he wouldn’t. If Keith was having doubts about their mateship the last thing Lance wanted to do was bring them up.

Perhaps if he pretended they didn’t exist for long enough they would go away.

~

They did not go away.

For the next several weeks Lance tried everything, from giving Keith some space, to sticking to his side like they were glued to the hip, to giving him the cold shoulder, to being as enthusiastic as possible.

It did shit all.

Lance hadn’t even realized the stress was mounting to dangerous levels, between his struggling grades, the seemingly never ending letters from his family and the strain with Keith making itself more apparent with each passing day Lance was a ticking time bomb with a very short fuse.

**SIMULATION FAILED**

He knew just outside the doors of the fake spaceship he had just blown to bits stood his instructor, half his class and the probation period he’d been promised if he couldn’t pull this off.

He burst into tears. He’s not sure if he managed to climb out of the simulator on his own or if someone tried to help him. Vaguely he heard someone tell someone else to ‘go get Kogane’ and Lance was hit with a dizzying mix of relief and dread.

He’s not sure if Keith’s presence would make him feel better because he was his mate, or much much worse because of what he was putting Lance through.

Regardless, eventually he was being cradled and carried away and Lance cried harder and buried his face in his Alpha’s chest, seeking the reassurance of his scent.

He’s not sure when they arrived at his room, and even less when he managed to pull himself together and stop the sobs raking through his entire body.

Keith was running his hands gently over Lance’s arm and quite suddenly, Lance wasn’t distraught, he was furious.

He yanked himself away from his mate’s hold.

“Lance?” Keith asked, sounding confused.

Lance began pacing up and down their room, all of his frustrations threatening to bubble out of his lips as he tried to hold them back but it was far too much. He whirled around shouting before he even realized what he was doing.

“What the fuck is going on with you?”

Keith blinked back at the Omega, clearly bewildered by his mate's behavior.

“What do you mean me? Lance what is going on with you?” His voice was too soft, too indulging, too caring, it made Lance want to throttle him. An infuriated growl tore out of Lance.

“You are!”

Keith’s mouth hung slightly open as he stared at Lance in shock.

“What have I done?” It was the first time Lance had heard Keith direct an irritated tone of voice at him and it made him feel all kinds of awful, to the point where tears prickled in the edges of his eyes. He blinked them away angrily.

“As far as I know, the only thing I’ve tried to do is stay supportive and take care of you while you fall apart. Excuse me for trying to do my job.” Keith was clearly agitated, but he stayed very still, almost unnaturally so, as if he was afraid of moving.

“Is that what you think being mates is? You’re just gonna sit around and try to fix all my problems for me?”

“Lance what are you even talking about?”

“For the love of Christ, Keith I’m talking about you and your complete fucking inability to let me do anything for you!”

That finally got Keith to shut up long enough for Lance to wrangle his thoughts into something coherent. He hurried to get everything out while he still had the opening.

“I don’t know what it is that you have on your mind but you need to talk to me about it like a grown ass adult and stop punishing me for whatever it is I did wrong when you haven’t told me what that is.”

“Punish you? Lance, what? You’re being delusional. There’s nothing going on with me.”

“What do you call not talking to me for weeks on end? Or do you think I like being treated like shit.”

“I talk to you every day! I get you literally anything you want!”

Lance's face contorted as he lowered his voice in a mockery of Keith’s.

“Good morning, Lance, are you alright? Do you need me to get you anything? No? Alright then I’m gonna fuck off for the next five hours, I’ll check back in with you to see if you need me to get you anything.”

“That’s not what I say, and that’s not what I mean.”

“Like hell it isn’t, you just sit there brooding all day and you don’t care about me unless there’s some quest you feel you need to fulfill for me as my mate.”

“You mean the world to me, Lance, you know that.”

“Then start fucking acting like it and tell me what the hell is going on in that thick Alpha head of yours! You’re not my errand boy, you’re my mate and you’ve been doing a shit job of it lately!”

Keith flinched like Lance had struck him. He did nothing but stare back, his expression nothing short of anguish.

Lance quickly realized what he’d said, the turmoil he’d been building up the past weeks departing him in an instant, as Keith turned his face away from him.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” He rushed over to try and put his hands on Keith’s face, make him look at him but Keith pulled away.

“I told you, you could’ve broken the bond if you wanted to. You didn’t have to be stuck with a shit mate. I’m sorry. It’ll be harder now but you should know I’m not going to keep you here any longer than you want to be.”

Lance could’ve screamed in frustration.

“Don’t start with that again. Can’t you see the whole problem is you keep shutting me out? You’re doing it right now.”

Keith stiffened when Lance wrapped his fingers over his arm but the Omega held firm.

“I know you’re not okay, I can feel it; you’re my mate. But whenever I try to help you, you just block me. How do you think that makes me feel, cause let me tell you, it makes me feel like a worthless mate who’s just using you. It can’t always be you giving me everything.”

Keith’s face was tight with emotion as Lance finally managed to coerce his gaze back to him.

“I’m sorry.” He said again, but this time, he wasn’t apologizing for his own existence.

Lance pulled Keith close to him, cradling his head in his arms. For a few more moments, the Alpha said nothing before something in him seemingly broke and he just started talking, so fast his tongue almost tripped over itself.

“It’s just, I never really had any Alpha role models in my life. I never met my mom, my dad was an Omega, and I grew up so isolated. I never had anyone to teach how to be a good Alpha, a good mate. And then we mated, and I felt like I’d done everything so wrong, I didn’t court you, I mated you while we were both out of our minds on pheromones and I wanted so badly to fix that. I was so worried I wouldn’t do right by you that I-”

“Ended up not doing right by me.” Lance finished for him. Keith hung his head in shame.

Lance ran his hands over his Alpha’s arms and shoulders, trying to soothe him. Some deep primal part of him finally released all of his anxieties as, for the first time since they were mated, his mate allowed him to take care of him.

“You don’t need a guidebook to this Keith. And trust me, having someone breathing down your neck about proper mate dynamics is not the best way to learn anything.”

Lance tried not to think about the locked box of letters from his family. They weren’t getting any easier to read.

“There’s no universal algorithm for a happy mateship. We learn that together, as a mated couple. And rule number one is you can’t shut me out. Taking care of you like this is my responsibility, just like it’s your responsibility to take care of me like you do. You don’t let me do it and it makes me feel like you don’t even want me as your mate.”

“You know that’s not-” Keith hurried to say, eyes wide and a little panicked. Lance put his finger to the others mouth, shushing him. “I know. But feelings aren’t alway rational, you should know that better than anyone right now.”

It pulled a weak smile from Keith and that was the only thing Lance could ask for at the moment. He wrapped his Alpha up in as warm and comforting an embrace as he could. He could feel the other relaxing against him, reaching up to hug back.

“You gonna let me take care of you from now on?” Lance asked. Keith nodded against his shoulder.

“Good. Now sit back and relax cause I’m going to take care of you alright.”

When Keith raised an eyebrow at him Lance rolled his eyes.

“A massage; you’ve been stiff for days.”

Not for the first time, Keith wondered what he had gotten himself into when he mated Lance. Whatever it was he loved every second of it.

~

**Bonus Scene**

"I told you to just talk to him." Pidge sighed the next day over lunch.

Lance huffed but leaned further into Keith's shoulder.

"No really, if you had just listened to me-"

"I think that's enough, Pidge." Keith said, waving his spoon at her.

"No, shut up Loverboy, I'm never gonna get a chance to be this right about something like this again."

"Ughhh," Lance groaned loudly as he let his head fall onto the table with a thud, lifting up and dropping it again with each words as he said: "Stop. Calling. Him. Loverboy."

"In your dreams. Maybe if you had actually listened to me, I'd consider it."

"I'm never living this down." Lance muttered out, to no one in particular.

"Nope!" Hunk said cheerily, munching on his sandwich.

**Author's Note:**

> That was a bit of a sprawling mess. It got away from me at several points and I'm not a hundred percent sure whether it shows or not. It also wasn't supposed to be anywhere near this long, but then again neither was Five Times Allura.
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed that, it was half fun to write, half very stressful to do anything remotely angsty because it's just not my personal jam, I don't like hurting my characters on page, I really hope I did it some kind of justice.
> 
> I've got a couple of other klance things to work on, because I'm firmly ignoring the need to do homework, so if that interest you in any way or you have any suggestions feel free to comment them.
> 
> P.S. It is midnight as I post this what is wrong with me?


End file.
